Author's note: Just FYI, as the group travels around, I have no idea if my descriptions of the setting are accurate. My grandma lives in Marietta, GA (an Atlanta suburb), but that's the extent of my experience with Georgia. I'm mostly going off of information from Google maps.

The bus was quiet as they drove out of the town, heading north on a small local highway. Stella was relieved that they were not going closer to Atlanta, and instead were skirting around the edge of the suburbs and moving north. Maggie sat next to Beth with her arm wrapped around her younger sister's shoulders. Beth was leaning on Maggie, but her eyes moved around the bus, as if she couldn't believe where she was. Her gaze frequently landed on Noah, who sat in the seat across the aisle from her. Stella wondered how long the pair had traveled together. Beth had promised to tell them everything once they found a safe enough place to settle down for the evening, but at the moment, the silent reunion seemed to be enough.

Daryl slipped his hand into Stella's and shared a brief side smile with her. She noticed that his eyes kept darting back to Beth, as if he was checking to make sure she was still there. Stella gave his hand a small squeeze, knowing how difficult Beth's disappearance had been for him. She looked up and noticed Beth looking at their intertwined hands, but when Stella met the blonde's bright blue eyes, she flashed a quick, warm smile and looked away.

Stella was suddenly struck with the realization that she and Daryl's relationship might strike Beth is odd, considering the way Maggie and Glenn had initially reacted to it. She remembered Maggie telling her that Daryl had never really let anyone get close to him when he was with the group. She knew Beth was an exception, though not in a romantic way, and she wondered how Beth would react to the relationship. She found herself praying that Beth hadn't developed some sort of crush on Daryl when the two had traveled together. It would make sense, since Beth seemed to be the first person to be able to bring down some of Daryl's walls. Stella bit her lip and hoped things would not become awkward. She was eager to get to know Beth after all she had heard about the girl.

Glenn drove the bus for about two hours. Cars blocking the highway caused them to have to stop and backtrack twice, and now they were about forty miles northeast of the edge of Atlanta. The towns had grown smaller and more sparse as they had driven away from the city, and now the sun was low on the horizon. Glenn slowed the bus, squinting at a sign up ahead.

"What is it?" Maggie called up to him.

"A peach orchard, I think," Glenn replied. He pulled the bus to the side of the road. "It's two miles down the gravel road up here. Want to check it out? If it isn't overrun or occupied, maybe we could stay there for the night."

"Let's check it out," Daryl agreed. Glenn nodded and pulled the bus back onto the highway, turning down the gravel road. They could see rows of peach trees up ahead, but they had not been maintained in some time. The trees were flowering, but since it was still only early spring, no fruit hung from the trees. Glenn pulled the bus up to a farmhouse that looked deserted.

The group stood and grabbed their weapons to scope the place out. Maggie handed Beth her handgun and moved to the back of the bus to retrieve two of the automatic weapons they had scavenged off of the young men who had attacked them. She handed one of them to Noah, raising her eyebrows as if to ask if he knew how to use the weapon. Noah nodded and took the gun.

They stepped off the bus and listened. Everything around them seemed quiet. Daryl and Glenn made their way to the house while Maggie, Beth, and Noah scouted out the surrounding area. After several minutes of cautious searching, the place was declared clear. Stella sighed in relief. She was glad to have a real roof over their heads for a night.

Glenn came bounding on the porch with a wide grin on his face.

"Check it out!" he called. He held up two large mason jars filled with peaches. "They've got a bunch of jars in here!"

Stella couldn't wipe the grin off her face as she followed the others inside.

The house was quiet and dark, save for a few candles they found to burn. Over dinner, Beth had recounted what had happened in the past months since she had been kidnapped. She told them about the hospital, and how she and Noah had escaped, barely both making it out. The two of them had been trying to get out of Atlanta on foot when winter hit, forcing them to take shelter wherever they could along the way. Beth said they didn't have much of a plan except to put as much distance between themselves and the people at the hospital as they could. When Maggie had told her about their own search for the rest of the group, Beth grew hopeful, clearly glad to have a plan and a direction to go in. They had also filled her in on how Stella had become a part of their group, and Beth seemed quick to warm up to her.

Now, late in the evening, the group was bedding down for the night. The house had three bedrooms, and all of them were very happy to have real beds to sleep in. Maggie and Glenn had retired early, probably to make use of the privacy a bedroom provided, and Daryl had offered to take the first watch. Noah volunteered for the second watch, leaving plenty of alone time for Maggie and Glenn and ample time for Stella to sleep hopefully undisturbed. Stella stepped out onto the porch where Daryl was sitting and gave his shoulder a squeeze.

"I'm going to bed," she said quietly. Her inability to sleep while camped on the side of the road coupled with the intense battle earlier in the day had exhausted her. Daryl looked up at her and observed the dark circles under her eyes.

"Get some rest," he murmured, pulling her down for a brief kiss. She flashed him a quick smile before retreating indoors and up the stairs to the room they had claimed for their own. Daryl watched her through the windows until she disappeared.

He noticed Beth walking through the living room blowing out candles. He couldn't believe that they had found her, that she was actually here. Noah emerged from the darkness and pulled Beth in for a hug by the foot of the stairs. Daryl watched him kiss Beth lightly on the forehead before heading up the stairs. He wasn't sure if the gesture was a romantic one, but the kid had helped Beth get out of the hospital and had kept her safe on the run, so he was all right by Daryl. He smiled to himself and turned his gaze out on the orchard of peach trees, enjoying the silence.

The silence was short-lived, however, as the front door opened and Beth stepped outside. Daryl glanced up and greeted her with a nod. She smiled and sat down next to him.

"You should be sleeping," Daryl said. "Don't know when we'll have beds again."

Beth shrugged. "Not tired."

The pair fell silent, gazing out into the still night. Daryl was reminded of the weeks they had spent traveling together when it was just the two of them, when they weren't sure if any of their group were even alive. Things had certainly changed a lot since then.

"I'm really glad you're here," Daryl said after a few minutes of silence.

"Me too."

"Just wish I could've found you sooner."

"You tried," Beth said. "You didn't give up. That means a lot."

"Should've tried harder."

"Stop. It doesn't matter. You did what you could, and I'm here now."

Daryl nodded, the silence resuming between them. As usual, Beth didn't stay silent for long.

"So you and Stella?" she said, her voice taking on a slightly teasing tone.

"Yeah? What about it?" Daryl grunted.

"You two seem pretty close."

Daryl nodded once, suddenly feeling like he was being put on the spot. Glenn and Maggie had never said anything to him about his and Stella's relationship (though he knew from the way Maggie and Stella had bonded that Stella had probably told Maggie all the details). He wasn't sure how to handle talking about it.

"So you're together, right?" Beth pressed. "Like you're dating."

Daryl scoffed. "Datin' don't exist anymore."

Beth rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean."

Daryl glared at her, refusing to answer. But Beth persisted, unfazed as usual by his lack of reply.

"She's your girlfriend, right?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know?" Beth repeated.

"What does it matter anyway?" Daryl snapped.

"It doesn't," Beth replied with a shrug. "I don't know why you're getting so defensive about it."

Daryl shrugged. He'd never had someone he could call a legitimate girlfriend. The fuck buddies he'd had over the years couldn't even come close. The word "girlfriend" felt foreign and uncomfortable to him.

"You seem pretty chummy with Noah," Daryl countered.

Beth nodded and shrugged. "Yeah. I like him. And he likes me. He's a good person."

"Better be," Daryl grumbled.

Beth smirked at him, knowing that if Noah ever hurt her, Daryl would probably hurt him right back. Her expression turned thoughtful and she turned to him, determined to make him listen to her.

"I think it's great that you found someone to be with," she said. "Even if you won't put a label on it. I can see the way you two interact together. You've got a chemistry that I've never seen anyone have with you."

"Yeah," Daryl agreed quietly, not meeting her eyes and feeling awkward.

"If you don't want to put a label on what you've got, that's fine. But with the world the way it is, you can't go pussyfooting around relationships. We don't have the time for it. We might die tomorrow. I'm sure Stella can tell that you care about her, but I know you, and I know you don't talk about your feelings. You have to tell her what you feel, cause one day, it might be too late."

Daryl stared at her, realizing the value of her statement. He wasn't even entirely sure himself how he felt about Stella, but he knew that Beth was right. He should tell her how important she was to him.

"When did you get so wise?" he muttered, nudging Beth with his shoulder. She smiled and nudged him back.

"When did you put your guard down enough to let a woman in?" she smirked.

"When someone made me realize that not everythin' in life is shit," he replied, looking pointedly at her.

Her smile widened in realization, happy that her faith in the world had rubbed off on Daryl Dixon.